Sleeping bag

ABSTRACT

A spoon or eggplant shaped sleeping bag that is narrow at an upper region where shoulders of a user are positioned and wider at a lower region where knees of a user are positioned.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/531,651 titled “Outdoor Equipment” which was filed on Sep. 7,2011 and claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.61/454,712 titled “Outdoor Equipment” which was filed on Mar. 21, 2011,both of which are incorporated fully herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to outdoor equipment and moreparticularly, relates to a spoon or eggplant shaped sleeping bag.

Traditional rectangular sleeping bags and more modern mummy shapedsleeping bags or barrel style sleeping bags are widely used for bothrecreational and extreme camping. These bag styles have suffered frommultiple disadvantages. The traditional rectangular style bags, whileroomy and adequate for warmer weather camping, are generally not usefulin colder weather as, owed to wasted interior volume, they do notadequately conserve body heat.

Additionally, the rectangular style bags are among the heaviest of thebag styles. The mummy shaped bags are narrow at the feet and then taperoutward towards the shoulders and then taper back in around the head.Mummy shaped bags follow the minimum silhouette of a person lying withlegs together and arms held close to one's chest. This represents thesmallest air volume possible around a person, so mummy shaped bags arebest for heat conservation. The barrel style bags typically maintain anarrow profile around the entire body. Both styles conserve heat muchbetter than the rectangular style bags; however they are inherentlyconstrictive, especially for people who like to be able to move theirlegs inside the sleeping bag.

Accordingly, what is needed is a new design for a sleeping bag thatconserves heat better than a rectangular style bag, but offers morespace around the legs, where it is especially desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention features a lightweight sleeping bag whichcomprises an upper region that is narrow and configured to be close toshoulders of a user; a lower region that is wider and bulbous in shape,allowing for movement around the user's knees and feet; an opening inthe upper region, wherein the opening is configured to allow sufficientspace for the user's head or neck; and a fastener mechanism expanding alength from the opening of the upper region to the lower region, whereinthe fastener mechanism is configured to open and close, therebyproviding access to an interior portion.

It is important to note that the present invention is not intended to belimited to a system or method which must satisfy one or more of anystated objects or features of the invention. It is also important tonote that the present invention is not limited to the preferred,exemplary, or primary embodiment(s) described herein. Modifications andsubstitutions by one of ordinary skill in the art are considered to bewithin the scope of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will bebetter understood by reading the following detailed description, takentogether with the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a detailed view of the sleeping bag embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention, shown in FIG. 1, discloses a sleeping bag 300.The sleeping bag 300 features a spoon shape. The sleeping bag is narrowat an upper region 302 where shoulders of a user are positioned. Thesleeping bag is wider at a lower region 304 where knees of a user arepositioned. This new sleeping bag design combines the best features ofboth a rectangular bag and a mummy or barrel shaped bag. The sleepingbag 300 is an effective use of material, and it is designed to packeasily. The shape keeps the bag close around the shoulders and thereforemaintains heat with less volume to heat up than a rectangular bag. Thebag is also less weight and less volume, which is important forbackpacking, than a rectangular bag. The bag provides more room in theleg region for better movement and more options for sleep position for auser than the prior art mummy or barrel shaped bag which has little orno room around the legs of the user. The bag may feature any othernumber of features, such as an opening 306 in the upper region 302 ofthe bag and a fastener mechanism 308. The fastener mechanism 308 ispreferably a zipper, but can also be any other suitable mechanism, suchas hook and loop closure, buttons, snaps, etc. The fastener mechanism308 may cover the entire length of the bag or may cover only a portionof the bag. The fastener mechanism 308 allows for easy opening andclosing of the sleeping bag, thereby allowing a user to enter the bagand close the bag and to open the bag and exit the bag.

Modifications and substitutions by one of ordinary skill in the art areconsidered to be within the scope of the present invention, which is notto be limited except by the following claims.

1. (canceled)
 2. (canceled)
 3. (canceled)
 4. (canceled)
 5. (canceled) 6.(canceled)
 7. sleeping bag comprising: an upper region having a firstwidth configured for containing a head, shoulder and upper body portionof a user; a lower region having a second width configured forcontaining a lower body portion of the user, wherein the second width ofthe lower region is wider than the first width of the upper region; anda middle region, located between the upper and lower regions, the middleregion having a third width, wherein the third width of the middleregion is narrower that the first width of the upper region and thesecond width of the lower region.
 8. The sleeping bag of claim 7,further comprising an opening in the upper region.
 9. The sleeping bagof claim 7, further comprising a fastener mechanism.
 10. The sleepingbag of claim 9, wherein the fastener mechanism is selected from thegroup consisting of a zipper, a hook and loop closure, a plurality ofbuttons, and a plurality of snaps.
 11. (canceled)
 12. The sleeping bagof claim 9, wherein the fastener mechanism extends generally an entirelength of the sleeping bag.
 13. The sleeping bag of claim 9, wherein thefastener mechanism runs at least a partial length of the sleeping bag.14. The sleeping bag of claim 9, wherein the fastener mechanism islocated along at least a portion of one outer edge of the sleeping bag.15. A sleeping bag comprising: a lower region having a first width, thelower region generally spoon shaped and configured to allow for movementof a user's knees and feet when disposed in use in said sleeping bag; anupper region having a second width, the second width being equal to orgreater than the first width of said upper region, the upper regiongenerally spoon shaped and configured to allow for movement of a user'sarms when disposed in use in said sleeping bag, wherein the upper regionand the lower region each include a tapering region configured to tapertowards one another and toward a middle region having a third width,wherein the third width of the middle region is narrower than the widthof the upper and lower regions.